Beet lifter



Dec. 18, 1923. m4775611 J. M. HENTON BEET LIFTER Filed July 2. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. l ,1923.

J. M. HENTON BEET LIFTER Filed July 2. 1921 2 Sl'nee'Ls-Shee;v 2 ff.

l J ff@ @5027/ Patented Dec. l, i223.

JOHN M. :'HENTGN, V035-H0'1 SPRINGS, SOUTH DAKOTA.

naar Linnen.

Application led July 2, i921.l Serial No. 482,235.

A primaryobject 'of the invention is tol provide a device that will vlitt or raise the beets from the ground in a gent-le but positive manner which will avoid Ibreaking of the root system of the beet as much as possible thereby recovering substantially, if not entirely, all of the ypart of the 'beet embedded in the earth. It is a well known fact that a certain percentage of the roots ot' .the beet are pulled away or separated from the body off the beet by many digging Y devices dueto the fact that they abruptly remove the body of the bee-t from the ground which causes the roots to break away and remain in the ground thereby involving'an economic waste. It is the purpose of .the present invention to .eliminate or reduce this waste to a minimum, and to that end the invention proposes simplev and practical means Afor. y gently Yand n positively removing the beet from the ground to thereby recover the roots asfar as possible.

A further and more specific object of the invention istoprovide more or less yielding means for removing the beet 4rfrom the ground. In that connection it is proposed to provide simple and reliable means for digginginto'the earth and li'i'ting'thebeet from the ground in a safe and expeditious manner. A

'l/Vith the above andother objects'in 1View which will more readily yappear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same Vconsists .in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanyin drawings in which- `igurel is a detail side elevation .oa

digging unit constructed in accordance-with the present invention.

Figure 2 is'a top planviewthereof.

Figure is a vertical sectional View taken on 'line 3 3 of Figure 2.

Figure l is a detail vertical sectional` view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure v2.

Figure is another detail sectional view taken on the line 5--5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a side elevation of a modifiedV form of Lthe invention.

Figure 7 is a top plan view ofthe digging unit shown in Figure 6.

A`Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view taken on `the line 8-8 ofcFigure 7.

Figure 9 is a detail cross-sectional view taken :on theline 9f-9 of Figure 6.

.In carrying the present invention into ei- 'ect, it is proposed to provide a novel unit adapted toV enter the ground and lso arranged and mounted as to `yield or give upon en-A countering the'beet to thereby exert ay steady andpersisting upward vrpullon the same to gently and yet lirmly draw the beet from the earth.

"Une practical and convenient vform for accomplishing the desired end is shown )in Figures land 2 of the drawings wherein it Willbe observed'that it is proposed to utilize a `pair of plow elements A, ,the same essentially comprising the land 'bar portions 1 having the points 2and the lifting or pulling share blades 3. The digging point or toe 2 of each plow element* preferably has the shape of one fourth ofa cone and the Ashare memberl is kalso or' substantiallyathe same general lformation so.asto iprovide in e'ect a continuation of the generally conical surface formed at the iront end of each plow element. l

'One of the novel and distinctive features `of .the invention isthe mounting ofthe share blades 'Sfin suchl a manner that they may ield orviveunder ressure tooroduce the desired lifting or pulling effect upon the beet. To that end the said blades 3 are Vpreferably mounted upon suitable springs lLand-5 carriedby vthe land barsl of the y,plow elements,-and theconstruction at the point where the share member Vjoins with the toe issuch that a smooth unbroken joint `is providedr as indicated atb in Figure 5,.

for example.. That is to say, the innerv edge ofthe toe 2 may be bevelled as at a while the front edge of the share blade 3 is providedfwith an inclined flange portion?) ,for

matching.,therewith.v The Asprings-rand 5 will' normally hold 'the parts a and b `in flush contact or engagement to thereby pro- (ill vide a substantially continuous and unbroken lifting surface for the blade extending from the tip of the unit to the heel thereof. For the purpose of providing additional support and strength in thev mounting of the share blades 3 the curved flat supporting springy 5 may be assisted by an additional supporting spring 7, the latter being attached to the spring 5 as indicatedV at 8 and supported on the inner faceV of the land bar of theA plow element as indicated at 9. f

Eachplow element is preferably mounted uponV one of the bars of the framework F which may be raised and Vlowered by the levervconnections 'L to enable the entireele- Vment to be lifted off theground lfor transportation purposes. Y

Although the plow elementsmay be' supported in any convenient or suitable manner according to the structural features of the machina upon which they are used, it will be understood that the land bar 1 is preferably pivoted as indicated a't 10 to the lower end of a support or standard Bvconnected to the frame F at 11. And, for the purpose of guiding the plow element and preventing` lateral twisting, the same preferably carries near the rear end of the land bar an upright or guide 12 adapted to pass through the passage-way or strap 13 on the frame AF.

and having an offset portion 111 which cooperates with -the spring 15 operating against the abutment 16 formed by a portionv of the frame, to yieldingly hold thev rear end of the plow element into-the earth.

n view of the foregoing it will be'underi stood that the entire plow element is pivotally mounted upon the bar or standard B carried by theframe F in such al manner that it may swing in a vertical plane` on the pivot 10. When the device is in use the front end of the element will dip or dig into the earth and therefore be slightly depressed atV the frontend while ythe rear end willbe elevated to a certain extent but will always be guided by the'parts 12V and 13 in the manner already set forth.

In connection with the shareblades 3 it will be observed in the formof construction shownin Figures 1 to l inclusive that the said blades are provided with a plurality of inclined lifting ribs 3a arranged in parallelV relation so as to haveran'upward lifting effect vas the obliquely disposed share blade passes? along the beet row. Thesef ribs are formed at vthe meeting edgesof aplurality of grooves orconcave valleys 3b. 1n addition to liftingjthe' beet in the manner described, the ribs 3a alsoprevent slipping of the beet vfrom between'v the inner members of the .plow element.

The effect yof* the' convergently related share blades 3 isto engage thevbodyV of the beet and lprogressively lift the same upwardly from the ground by firm and per-A sistent force `which yields suciently to gradually pull the beet with its entire root system out of the ground.

A modified form of theinvention is shown in Figures 6 to V9 inclusive'ofthe drawings.

lIt will-be observed that theframe- F carrying the supporting bar B has pivotally fitted thereto as at-10a the land bar 1a of the plow element.Y In this embodiment the share blade 17 is yieldingly mounted orV carried by the relatively stout fiat springs- 18 and 19 afIiXed tothe land barla.rv For the purposel of providing additional support for the spring 19 the abutmentv 20 may be utilized,the same being located beneath the arch of the spring 19 in the manner shown in Figure 7 of the drawingsto provide the desired supporting eect. yThe forward end of the share blade 17 is detachably connected with'the land bar unit lFigure 8 of the drawings therear edge portions of the blades 17 are preferably `formed at an angle. to produce the depending flange or apron portions 23 for accommodatin the tail or roots of the beet while the bo y of the beet is carried along thel shoulders V24 and thereby gently lifted from the ground as the unit travels along the beet row.

From the foregoing it will ybe Vunderstood that the novel and distinctive featureofthe present inventionV resides in.L yieldingly mounting the lifting members of the digging unit, namely the share blades, which latter are obliquely inclined in such a 'manner that when arranged in pairs they provide a rearwardly converging elevating and liftingtrough Ior runway for positivelyrand gently removing the beets and theirfro'ots from the ground.

Without furtherY description Vit is thought i thatthefeatures and advantages of-lthe invention will be'readily apparent and-it Will' of course be understood that changes in the form, proportion and Yminor detailsof con-V struction Vmay be resorted to withoutV depart-k ing from the spirit ofthe invention or scopeof the appended claims. I claim:

1. Al digging unltiof the Vclass described including a plow element consistingV of a rigid land bar, and@ V a share blade yieldingly` carried thereby.

digging unit of the class describedV izo ' reference to the land bar and yieldingly mounted with reference thereto.

4. A digging unit of the class described including a pivotally supported plow element includinga yieldingly mounted share blade.

5. A digging unit of the class described including a plow element pivotally suspended from a horizontal aXis arranged transversely or the path of travel of the machine, and a vieldingly mounted share blade carried thereby.

6. A digging unit orp the class described including a plow element consisting of a rigid landl bar, a share blade obliquely arranged with reference to the bar and springs connecting the bar and blade for permitting yielding movement of the blade with reference to the bar when the blade is subjected to press-ure.

7. A digging unit of the class described including a plow element having a relatively fixed share bla-:le provided with a plurality of inclined ribs arranged to progressively lift the beet from the ground.

8. A digging unit of the class described including a plow element having a yieldingly mounted share blade provided with lifting ribs. f

9. A digging unit of the class described including a plow element pivotally supported at its intermediate portion and means at the rear end of said plow element for yieldingly maintaining the same in its normal position.

10. A digging unit of the class described including the combination with a frame, ay

standard carried by the frame, a plow element pivotally suspended from the lower end of the standard, a guide trap carried by the frame, a guide bar mounted upon the rear of the plow element and having `a guiding engagement in said strap, and a spring arranged between a portion of the frame and a portion of said guide bar for yieldingly maintaining the plow element in its normal position.

11. A digging unit oi the class described including a plow element having a substantially conical tace provided with a plurality of inclined ribs arranged to progressively lift the beets from the ground.

l2. A digging unit of the class described including a plow element consisting of a cone segment provided on its face with a plurality of parallel concave valleys and intervening ribs for progressively lifting the beets from the ground.

13. A digging unit of the class described including a plow element having a conical Jface provided with a plurality of parallel concave valleys and` intervening ribs, and means for yieldingly supporting said plow element.

In testimony whereof l hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

B. B. Pn'r'rus,l EMERY L. GROFF. 

